CHAPTER FIFTEEN: FLEETING WARMTH
1434 Words
The night was quiet.
Not the ordinary kind of quiet that came after midnight, when the city simply grew tired and surrendered itself to sleep.
This silence felt different.
It was the kind that came before something happened.
Below the rooftop, the city stretched endlessly beneath them. Buildings rose like dark monuments against the sky, their windows glowing in scattered patterns. Cars moved along distant roads like streams of white and red light. Somewhere below, music drifted from a nightclub, muffled by the height of the building.
But up here, there was only the wind.
And them.
Lydia sat on the edge of the rooftop with her knees drawn slightly toward her chest. For the first time in what felt like forever, she wasn't afraid.
Kael sat beside her.
Not as the terrifying Alpha everyone whispered about.
Not as the leader whose name made rogues tremble.
Just Kael.
His shoulders were relaxed, his hands resting loosely between his knees as he stared at the skyline.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Lydia found herself strangely comfortable with the silence.
"You know," Kael finally murmured, "I've never rested like this with anyone."
Lydia turned toward him.
"Rested?"
He nodded.
"Actually rested."
A small smile tugged at her lips.
"You're an Alpha. I thought Alphas didn't rest."
He looked at her.
"We don't."
"Then what are you doing now?"
"Breaking the rules."
She laughed softly.
The sound surprised both of them.
Kael's expression changed.
"What?"
"You laughed."
"So?"
"I haven't heard you laugh much."
Lydia looked away.
"I don't think I've had many reasons to."
Something flickered across his face.
Pain.
Regret.
He looked back toward the city.
"I know."
The words were so quiet that Lydia almost missed them.
She studied him.
There was something about Kael tonight that felt different.
Less guarded.
Less unreachable.
She wondered how many people had ever seen this side of him.
Probably none.
"You know," she said, "you're not as frightening when you're quiet."
He raised an eyebrow.
"That's disappointing."
She smiled.
"I didn't say you weren't frightening."
"Good."
"You still look like you could kill someone with one look."
"I can."
Her smile widened.
"I believe you."
For a moment, their eyes met.
Something shifted.
The playful moment disappeared, replaced by something softer.
Something neither of them was ready to name.
Kael reached up and gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.
His fingers lingered against her cheek.
Lydia froze.
His touch was warm.
Careful.
Nothing like the possessiveness she'd expected from a man everyone called ruthless.
"You should be sleeping," he said.
"So should you."
"I don't sleep much."
"Why?"
He hesitated.
"Nightmares."
Lydia's smile disappeared.
"What kind?"
"The kind you don't wake up from."
She stared at him.
Kael seemed to realize how much he'd revealed.
He withdrew his hand.
"Forget I said that."
"No."
She gently caught his wrist.
"You don't have to hide everything from me."
His eyes lowered to where her fingers rested against his skin.
"That's dangerous."
"Why?"
"Because I might start believing you."
Her heart skipped.
Lydia slowly released him.
The silver veins beneath her wrist began to glow.
Kael noticed.
"They're reacting again."
She looked down.
A faint silver light pulsed beneath her skin.
"I don't know why."
"I do."
She looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because you're feeling something."
"What?"
He held her gaze.
"Something your body doesn't know how to hide."
Her cheeks warmed.
"You're very confident."
"Not about this."
His voice softened.
"Not with you."
The confession settled between them.
Lydia looked away.
She didn't know what frightened her more—the supernatural powers awakening inside her or the feelings awakening alongside them.
She had spent so long surviving that she had forgotten what it felt like to simply want something.
To want someone.
She turned toward him again.
"Kael."
"Yes?"
"Are you afraid of me?"
He frowned.
"Why would I be?"
"Because of what I can do."
"No."
"Everyone else seems to be."
"I don't."
"You should."
"Maybe."
He leaned slightly closer.
"But I'm not."
Lydia's pulse quickened.
"Why?"
"Because when I look at you, I don't see a weapon."
His eyes softened.
"I see Lydia."
Her throat tightened.
Nobody had said her name like that before.
As if it were something precious.
As if she were more than the prophecy.
More than the Silver Blood.
More than the girl who had been betrayed and sold.
Just Lydia.
"You make it difficult to hate you," she whispered.
A faint smile appeared.
"I was beginning to worry you were getting too good at it."
"I still hate you sometimes."
"I know."
"You keep secrets."
"I do."
"You make decisions for me."
"I'm trying to stop."
"You scare me."
Kael's expression became serious.
"I would never intentionally hurt you."
"I know."
The answer came too quickly.
Kael looked at her.
Lydia swallowed.
"I know."
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Kael reached for her hand.
He didn't grab it.
He simply offered his palm.
Lydia stared at it.
She could have pulled away.
Instead, she placed her hand in his.
Their fingers slowly intertwined.
The silver veins beneath her skin brightened.
Kael's eyes flashed gold.
Neither of them spoke.
Their breathing gradually fell into the same rhythm.
Lydia rested her head against his shoulder.
Kael went completely still.
"You can move," she whispered.
"I know."
"Then why aren't you?"
"I'm afraid I'll ruin it."
She smiled against his shoulder.
"Maybe you won't."
His hand tightened slightly around hers.
They stayed that way.
For a while, there were no prophecies.
No enemies.
No secrets.
No blood.
Just two people sitting beneath a moon that seemed to belong only to them.
Lydia closed her eyes.
For the first time since her mother's death, she felt something that wasn't grief.
Something warm.
Something fragile.
Something almost like happiness.
"You know what scares me?" she whispered.
"What?"
"How happy I am right now."
Kael turned toward her.
"Why?"
"Because every time something good happens to me..."
She hesitated.
"...something takes it away."
His expression hardened.
"That won't happen."
"You can't promise that."
"I can promise I'll fight."
She lifted her head.
"Against what?"
"Everything."
She smiled faintly.
"That's a very Alpha answer."
"I'm an Alpha."
"Unfortunately."
He laughed.
A genuine laugh.
Soft and low.
Lydia stared at him.
"There."
"What?"
"That."
"What?"
"You laughed again."
Kael shook his head.
"You make me do strange things."
"Maybe that's my power."
"Maybe."
He leaned closer.
Their foreheads touched.
Lydia's breath caught.
His eyes searched hers, giving her every opportunity to pull away.
She didn't.
The distance between them disappeared slowly.
Their lips met in a gentle kiss.
Nothing hurried.
Nothing demanding.
Just warmth.
For one brief moment, Lydia forgot everything.
Then—
A sharp pain tore through her chest.
She gasped and pulled away.
Kael immediately caught her.
"Lydia?"
The silver veins beneath her skin erupted with light.
She clutched her chest.
"I—I don't know what's happening."
Kael's eyes flashed gold.
"Lydia, look at me."
She tried.
But the rooftop disappeared.
The city vanished.
And suddenly she was standing somewhere else.
A vast underground palace.
Silver pillars.
A black throne.
Blood covering the floor.
A woman screaming.
Her mother.
Then another figure stepped from the darkness.
Lydia couldn't see his face.
Only his eyes.
Black.
Completely black.
He reached toward her mother.
And whispered:
"Your daughter will return."
The vision shattered.
Lydia screamed.
Kael caught her before she fell.
"Lydia!"
She opened her eyes.
She was back on the rooftop.
But she was trembling.
"What did you see?"
She stared at him.
"The kingdom."
Kael's face changed.
"What about it?"
She struggled to breathe.
"My mother..."
"What happened?"
"She wasn't alone."
"Who was with her?"
Lydia's eyes filled with fear.
"I don't know."
She looked toward the city.
"But he knew me."
"Who?"
"The man in the vision."
Kael's expression became grim.
"What did he look like?"
"I couldn't see his face."
"What did he say?"
Lydia swallowed.
"He said..."
She looked directly into Kael's eyes.
"Your daughter will return."
Kael went completely still.
Because those weren't the words of a stranger.
They were the words of someone who had been waiting for Lydia.
Someone who knew exactly who she was.
Someone who knew she would eventually awaken.
And somewhere beneath the city...
A man opened his eyes.
He smiled.
"The heir has finally seen me."
The storm had begun.
And neither Lydia nor Kael knew that their fleeting warmth had been the last peaceful moment they would have for a very long time.
End of Chapter Fifteen
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